The Curious Case of Shane Watson

It is seldom that someone bid adieu to his test career and the game lovers still find his journey indecipherable. A career which was filled with more of a promise than delivery, more of a criticism than accolades and that is Shane Watson for you who had been always a mile behind from what had expected of him, especially in test cricket.

An unfilled promise

Talented, Debatable, Promising, Frustrating. Those four words sum up his career to a large extent. For much of his career, Watson was misused by the Cricket Australia, be it asking him to open knowing his discomfort with incoming deliveries or demanding long spells overlooking his injury prone body. While the management has seen him as an all-rounder of kallis level, he could do little justice to any of them.

Despite boasting an athletic figure and often looks like a right handed disciple of Mathew Hayden, Watson had to first beat his fragile body to withstand the demands of international cricket. His resilience was commendable all through his career despite his body threatened him to break up. It is tempting to say that had it not been for his persistent injuries, he might have been one among the greats. It’s not simple though, as his batting was plagued by his incomprehensible inability to handle the in-swinging delivery, and his bowling, even at its best, couldn’t match the likes of kallis and flintoff.

Watson offered an important bowling option that made him a curious case. A front-line batsman not pulling his weight with the bat, but easing the team’s burden with the ball. There were significant contributions but of little substance. Owing to his injury prone body, he should have modeled Steve Waugh, but tried to be a fast bowler, bowling faster than the mechanics that his body can deal with, may be at the behest of cricket Australia, which had hindered his career completely.

Leg Before Watson

Of late, it has become a standing joke that Watson plays round his front pad, the ball crashes into it at pace and the umpire raises his finger. Watson reviews it, almost for a laugh. He can no longer hold his spot when players of much better potential waiting on the fringes. A right decision at wrong time? May be or May not be. He will be forever remembered as perennial underachiever at test level.

Now he has two options at his disposal. Either, the sturdy, six-foot all-rounder can focus on ODI & T20I’s and hope to do some justice in the fag end of his career or focus on domestic Twenty20 cricket, to secure lucrative contracts around the world. Unfortunately, for a man with as blemished an injury record as Watson, the latter may seem the more feasible choice.

Some players are remembered as world cup winners, some as world record holders, but Watson will forever be remembered with LBW written after his name.